


Locked Up and Left Behind

by Scout_bih



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [1]
Category: Prequel to Until Dawn, The Inpatient (Video Game), Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, M/M, Malnutrition, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:47:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22135024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scout_bih/pseuds/Scout_bih
Summary: First check off on my bingo card.Also one of the first Inpatient fics
Relationships: Male Patient/Gordon Bennet
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593226
Kudos: 3





	Locked Up and Left Behind

The patient had been pacing since the experiment started. If Gordon cared enough he would’ve pointed the self-soothing habit that probably started in childhood but at that moment it was annoying the fuck out of him. It had been three days since the lockdown had started and the patient’s bare feet sticking and smacking to the floor was grating on his already frazzled nerves.  
“Would you please stop doing that?” Gordon gritted out, hands clenched at his sides. He didn’t mean to snap but this was just too much. The patient finally stopped and somehow it was worse than the pacing. The man was frozen, probably in another blackout. Whether he was remembering something or not Gordon doesn’t care, not anymore. The now statue of a man was more distracting than the previous pacing and it was getting more and more unsettling the longer it lasted. It lasted so long Gordon thought the patient might be having a seizure and stood up to check on him.  
But as soon as he got close the patient snapped out of it, jumping back violently like he didn’t see Gordon walk up to him; he probably didn’t. Gordon however, is prepared for this. Holding his hands up defensively to the scared man to show he’s not a threat, a common move amongst new patients first going through the treatments. The patient seemed out of it still, not 100% here and still looking at Gordon like he’s gonna maul him to death. He backs up further away from Gordon, jumping when his back hits the wall. The patient doesn’t quite look like he knows what to do, eyes flitting around the room as he sinks to the ground with his hands in his hair.  
The doctor sighs, he’s too hungry and tired to be dealing with this, but he knows it’s his responsibility. It’s partly Gordon’s fault the man is like this anyway so he has to be the one to help right now. So he gets closer, crouching down and giving the patient enough space to breathe.  
“Hey, you’re alright. I’m not gonna hurt you. Do you know where you are?” Gordon starts slow, wanting to test his memory only enough to give the man some semblance of grounding. He doesn’t expect much of an answer but with the answer he got, he was disappointed with.  
The other man didn’t respond, instead, he just shook his head, fearful eyes burning their way into Gordon’s soul. He wanted to help but he wasn’t sure as the patient regressed farther than he expected. If he were out of this room he would’ve just pumped the patient full of drugs to calm him down and hope for the best... it wasn’t like that now. Now Gordon had to soothe him manually.  
Scooting a tad closer Gordon reaches a hand out to the patient, pausing anytime he flinched. Finally, after a few moments, he was able to pull the hand down that was gripping his hair, the grip looked painfully tight and he knew if he ripped some out it wouldn’t help anyone.  
“I know everything is overwhelming right now but you’ve got to listen. Hey hey, keep your eyes on me.” Gordon starts slow, making sure the man is paying attention he waves his hand when he starts to drift his eyes to the side.  
“I know you can speak, can you use your words? What’re you thinking ” The patient is bordering on an anxiety attack with how fast his breath is coming out, Gordon needs to ground him now.  
The man grips Gordon’s hand tight, trying so hard to focus but his lungs are aching. He opens his mouth before shutting it again, losing his thoughts. The patient manages to get a gasping breath in and he answers the question the best he can.  
The patient is hyperventilating now and Gordon knows there’s not much he can do except calming him down enough to get him to focus. Scooting even closer now Gordon puts his hand on the patient’s chest, getting his attention before moving his hand to Gordon’s chest so he can feel the breathing.  
“Hey, breathe with me okay?” He says, keeping their eyes connected. Gordon starts to breathe exaggeratedly deep breaths so the patient can feel it.  
The other man takes a while to understand what Gordon was doing, his hand being held to the other’s chest squeezed a bit, feeling not only his breathing but his heartbeat as well. The guidance helped, helped a lot actually to the point the patient was focusing on copying Gordon’s breathing while his attention was grabbed by his heartbeat.  
Gordon could see the position was helping and moved his hand up from the patient’s chest to hold his shoulder. He pulled the man close, tucking him into his chest as contact is known to soothe. They haven’t had any contact since being locked up which honestly is Gordon’s fault, he’s the doctor he knows these things, he knows that someone with less than the recommended contact has a high rate for depression and in this case, anxiety attacks.  
But this isn’t helping, intellectualizing the other man’s panic is not helping anyone. “Cmon then, I got you.” he murmurs, pulling the patient into his lap. Gordon can feel the patient’s panic waning, his breathing evening out as he holds him.  
The patient finally settles in a vacant state, staring forward at the wall while he calms down. Blinking slowly he presses his face into Gordon’s neck, distracting himself from the emptiness of the room.  
“We’ve really been just left behind?” The patient croaks out, eyes still hazed over. What’s the point in functioning if no one’s coming.  
Gordon swallows a lump that had formed waiting for the patient to calm down, he felt better when he was sure the man hadn’t lost his memory again but the other’s worries were true. No one seemed to be coming for them. Gordon was on the edge of losing hope already but right now he had to be strong.  
“They’ve just been caught up with dealing with whatever escaped, they’ll come when it’s safe,” he takes a breath, “we’ll make it through this, I promise.” Gordon keeps his voice strong, even if he isn’t convinced by his own words. The patient needs this.  
Looking down at the still silent man in his arms Gordon is mildly surprised to find the Patient had dozed off, head hanging low and breathing deepened considerably since he first started to panic. He’d have to move them, the ground was uncomfortable and he knew it’d be best for the patient to be sleeping comfortably in his uncomfortable bed.  
Shifting with a slight grunt, Gordon adjusted the weight in his arms so he could stand. The walk up to the head of the bed wasn’t as bad as he first thought it would be, the lack of food was taking its toll on both of them. He set the patient down in the bed, the springs squealing under the new weight. Just as Gordon was pulling away his shirt was tugged, caught in the grip of the unconscious man. It would’ve been easy to work away the fingers clutching at him but Gordon knew he couldn’t do that. With a sigh he climbs into the bed as well, holding the patient close, feeling the harsh chill of the room melt away between them.


End file.
